Rule-based structural expression of text and formatting attributes in documents

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, that use record-based styles. In one aspect, a system receives an input selecting a portion of some formatted content, and generates from the selected content one or more style definitions defining a corresponding style in terms of contiguous fields, each defined in terms of units of formatted content. In another aspect, a system applies a record-based style to formatted text content, identifies one or more logical records within the formatted text content matching the style, and displays one of the logical records with a demarcation of boundaries between occurrences of fields in the record. In another aspect, a system also receives a second record-based style, and applies the second style to a result set of logical records that match the first style. In another aspect, a system also uses a record-based style as a search term to search a set of documents.